Relocation plan for IDPs

The Chairman of the Presidential Initiative for the North East (PINE), Professor Soji Adelaja disclosed the marching order during the committee’s inaugural sitting in Abuja.Adelaja reminded his colleagues that they did not have much time and needed to develop the plan very quickly because the haphazard manner IDPs moved back into their communities without proper […]

The Chairman of the Presidential Initiative for the North East (PINE), Professor Soji Adelaja disclosed the marching order during the committee’s inaugural sitting in Abuja.
Adelaja reminded his colleagues that they did not have much time and needed to develop the plan very quickly because the haphazard manner IDPs moved back into their communities without proper documentation or assessment of their needs was worrying.
Mr Adelaja noted that the committee would work within the timeframe provided to it to produce a workable document in time for the government to take action. He suggested that the committee members should commence sitting without further delay so that in ten days, the outlines of a plan would be made, and, in a maximum of two weeks, a fine tuned version of it would be submitted to government.
The chairman said that there was a great opportunity for Nigeria as a nation to manage the resettlement and rehabilitation of its citizens that have been displaced by conflicts.
The Chairman Borno Elders Forum, Ambassador Usman Gaji Galtimari, said that although the government’s action was a step expected of it, the measure was hasty and the goal unrealistic considering the timeframe.  Galtimari called for the affected communities to be properly swept by security experts for possible leftover explosive devices like mines and other unexploded munitions that may litter the conflict areas of the Boko Haram insurgency.
He called on security agencies to ascertain the safety of any liberated community before citizens are allowed to return.
The government’s good intentions in trying to get people back to the environment they have been familiar with before the conflict caused them to disperse in various directions should not be overlooked. The images of people lunging for food rations in these IDPs are not a pretty sight for a country reckoned to be among the world’s top oil producers. So the sooner these citizens return to their homes and pick up on their normal life, hence the urgency in setting up of the committee, the better. But the ten days allotted to it to accomplish the task is too short to produce a viable working plan. The content of its work schedule alone is daunting, and this must include taking inventories of the number of houses destroyed, public buildings affected, schools damaged, hospitals destroyed, bridges and water sources affected, etc, and map out a plan of restoring all these.
The IDPs themselves may be eager to leave their cramped temporary abodes in the IDP camps, but it is also important to let them know of the need to be patient until their homes are safe enough for them to return to. This procedure would be in compliance with international conventions on the rights of IDPs.
The appropriate arm of the security establishment, perhaps with the assistance of external experts, should scour the entire conflict region for possible mines and unexploded munitions and neutralize them.
The committee’s work would be greatly helped if it consulted district heads, security agencies, local government officials and other community leaders.
It is not clear at this stage what the government intends to do with the plan it would get from the committee. Whatever that may be, it should embody a comprehensive Marshall plan for the economic and social rejuvenation of all the areas devastated by the insurgency.  The government’s limited resources and the little time at its disposal may not have much of an impact, at least in the short-term. But involving the international community could open up opportunities for partnerships to tackle the region’s myriad of problem. This should be mobilized at the earliest opportunity to help with the rapid development of the areas in all aspects such as health, education, manpower development, etc, among others.
This certainly is a major commitment for the outgoing government; it may not be able to conclude it, but it is good that it has started it.